The Logitech IO is a US$149.99 digital pen that captures your writing using a tiny camera. The pen uses real ink, but you have to write on special "smart paper" covered with dots, which costs more than regular paper but gives the pen's camera its bearings.

Handwriting is recognized not on a PC, but on the pen itself. The pen captures both the text, and the "picture," of scribbled notes, so your actual handwriting and doodles are preserved.

It stores up to 40 pages in its 1 MB memory.

A feature called ioTag flags notes for specific actions, such as sending e-mail (if you use Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes) or adding appointments to your calendar. That's right -- you can actually send e-mail with pen-on-paper. A docking cradle connects the pen to your Windows XP or Windows 2000 PC. The pen comes with desktop software with which you can edit, store or save the recognized text.

The Nokia Digital Pen SU-1B